West Ham United won’t rush their decision on Andy Carroll

West Ham United
will only decide whether or not to take Andy Carroll in the summer.

The England
international joined Liverpool from Newcastle United in a £35million deal back
in January 2011, but he failed to impress on Merseyside. Carroll is spending
the current season on loan at Upton Park, but his form has been interrupted by
injury problems.

However, he
did get on the scoresheet on Saturday, when he notched the only goal of the
game to defeat Swansea City 1-0. The Hammers have the option to take the
24-year-old on a permanent basis in the summer, but Sam Allardyce will not make
a decision until then.

"You always want a top class centre forward," the West Ham
boss told talkSPORT. "I know he's been short on goals and he's had a
disrupted season, but he'll only get better if he's got a settled future,
whether that's with us or not [I don't know].

"It would be a long process though. We will have a conversation at
the end of the season with Andy and Liverpool. It all depends on how he feels
and what he does between now and the end of the season. It's also about where
Andy thinks his future lies. He hasn't
thought about that yet, he just wants to play as much as he can.”